Ten-year experience with looped catheter manipulation of ureteral calculi

Six hundred sixteen procedures for management of ureteral calculi were reviewed. Five hundred six (82%) were endoscopic procedures; 207 were looped catheter manipulations and 299 were stone basket extractions. The retrieval efficiency for ureterolithotomy, looped catheter manipulation, and basket extraction was 100, 46, and 71 per cent, respectively. The average size of calculus was 7.9 mm (lithotomy), 6.9 mm (looped catheter), and 4.2 mm (basket). Looped catheters were used for larger stones, for stones higher in the ureter, and for stones that could not be extracted with a basket. The looped catheter can be utilized for stones at any level of the ureter. There was no significant difference in the complications from use of the looped catheter or stone basket, except for a longer hospital stay for patients who had manipulation with looped catheters than with stone baskets.